Kevin Garnett added 23 points and 14 rebounds for the
Timberwolves, who were coming off the first sweep of a
three-game road trip in team history. He completed a
three-point play to put the Timberwolves ahead for good, 88-86,
with 7:01 remaining.

"The intensity was like a playoff game," Brandon said. "We were
able to keep playing, be professional and keep our poise."

Emotions nearly boiled over as Seattle guard Brent Barry was
ejected after getting involved in a shoving match with Minnesota
forward Sam Mitchell with 3:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Barry, who scored 13 points, had to be held back by teammates
after being whistled for an offensive foul on Mitchell.

"After the foul, I just turned around and looked at him," Barry
said. "And he must have thought I threw an elbow at him because
on the tape it looked like I threw something at him. But I
didn't and then Sam just got in my face and wanted to talk about
the play."

Barry said he was upset he got an offensive foul and admitted he
overreacted.

"I didn't even know what to do in the locker room after I was
thrown out," he said. "I've never been thrown out before."

Two weeks ago, Barry angered the Timberwolves by hitting a
3-pointer with 11 seconds left in a game that was out of a
reach. He tried the shot to give Seattle 110 points and win free
Mexican food for all fans in the arena as part of a team
promotion.

"The past is the past," said Brandon, whose team had dropped
eight straight before the winning streak. "This is the real
Timberwolves. This is how we need to play."

"I told our players after the game, from the standpoint of where
we were three weeks ago, all we need to do is keep on working,"
Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "It's a credit to our guys
that they are continually working."

Gary Payton scored 33 points and made seven of the Seattle's 13
3-pointers. He attempted a team-record 17 shots from beyond the
arc.

"Gary Payton is the best point guard in the league," Brandon
declared. "I have great respect for him. I don't take
individual matchups too seriously, though, because I want to do
what is best for the team."

Seattle has lost consecutive games for the first time this
season. The Sonics were coming off Tuesday's 113-103 defeat at
Indiana.

"You know it's going to happen some time. Unfortunately, it
happened tonight," said Seattle forward Vin Baker. "We lost to
a quality basketball team. We were very aware that we hadn't
lost two in a row."

Vernon Maxwell scored 15 points for the Sonics, who fell behind
19-10 in the first quarter. Ruben Patterson's 3-pointer at the
buzzer gave Seattle a 27-26 lead and the Soncis stretched their
advantage to 60-52 on Maxwell's 18-footer with 33 seconds left
before halftime.

Minnesota charged out of the gate in the third quarter, pulling
into a 71-71 tie on Malik Sealy's jumper with 5:28 to play. The
lead went back and forth before the Timberwolves took a 79-78
edge into the final period.

Garnett's three-point play ignited a 10-0 run and the
Timberwolves opened built a 95-86 cushion on Joe Smith's
19-footer with 5:14 left.

The Sonics closed within five three times down the stretch, the
last at 105-100 on Horace Grant's 18-footer with a minute to
play. But Garnett answered with a 10-footer and, after Maxwell
made a pair from the line, Smith put away the contest with two
foul shots with 23 seconds to go.

"They made some big shots tonight," Grant said. "Terrell played
a great game. They were the more aggressive team tonight. We
didn't play aggressive defense, we didn't hit the open shots
like they did."

Smith had 18 points and Sealy added 17 for the Timberwolves, who
shot 46 percent (44-of-96) from the field while holding Seattle
to 44 percent (38-of-87).

Grant added 12 points and 11 boards for Seattle, which was
outrebounded, 54-40.